PiBurner

PiBurner Spotlight: Tabitha Richardson

Stan Altshuller March 6, 2023

Let’s celebrate our latest PiBurner Spotlight.

Tabitha Richardson

Owner at

We are very excited to feature Tabitha in our latest PiBurner Spotlight!

Today, we have the great honor of writing about someone who has given the greatest gift of all – to not one but two families. That of Life.

About Tabitha

This PiBurner Spotlight features Tabitha Richardson, owner at Laser Llama.

How did she come p with that catchy name? Well, she told us that she wanted an animal in the name, and Llmas were all the rage, and come on you gotta admit, Laser Llama just rolls off the tongue! We love it.

Tabitha lives in Rocklin, California.

Married to her high school sweetheart, they have three wonderful kids together. Tabitha was also a surrogate for two families giving them the precious gift of life!

The Laser Journey

After her first surrogacy journey, she had wisely set a little money set aside and decided to buy a Glowforge. She took the plunge just 4 1/2 years ago and now has a thriving business.

If you have read the PiBurner series before, you’ll know what a common path this is for so many PiBurners and small business owners with lasers. It really is the “gateway” laser!

Also, like Tabitha, most successful PiBurners are not afraid to save and make an investment. Rewards only come after taking measured risks.

When Covid hit, she was pregnant with a second surrogate baby. She was also helping her three children with online classes and that’s when her business really boomed.

I with hosting online painting classes using barn quilt files from Welcome Home Custom. I found that time was precious, and I bought an 80w OMTech to help handle the demand.

OMtech lasers are solid machines! Did you know that LensDigital and OMtech are partners? OMtech even sells PiBurns on their website.

Later, hats become the bread and butter for my shop so I added another laser so I could cut down my time on hat patches.

Why the PiBurn Rotary?

When Emily Caroline posted her review of the PiBurn; I knew I needed one to step up my game. While it was a big learning curve, I was able to figure it out quickly with the support from the PiBurn community!

Her Business Today

Today, her shop focuses on wholesale to other businesses and fundraisers for schools and sports teams.

We added the PiBurn a year ago and have been able to raise so much money for schools and teams in our community. Our customers love seeing their logos on tumblers!

Businesses of every type love their logos on tumblers, and people love their names on water bottles and mugs.

This is part of a huge personalization trend that powers this business to astronomical heights.

Think about the 32 million US businesses that need to connect with their customers. Now also think about the 125 million families in the US that want tumblers with their names on them. That is your market!

Favorite Projects on the OMTech 80W Laser Engraver and Glowforge

Some of Tabitha’sfavorite laser projects are hats for the FBI (whoa!) and water bottles for a local soccer league where they raised over $700 in funds for their club!

Check them out:

Advice for people starting in the Laser Engraving business

My advice for people just starting out is: Don’t be afraid, and don’t give up! Also, checkout YouTube for tips and tricks on using the PiBurn; you’ll find so much great information plus get great ideas for projects!

We couldn’t agree more. There is much great content out there and so many people who want to see you succeed. You have to do your part, but always remember – you are not alone.